On Sunday, the Kremlin announced that discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump‘s team were progressing positively, but cautioned that it was premature to anticipate immediate outcomes due to the damage inflicted on relations by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
Trump, who aims to be recognized as a peacemaker, has consistently expressed his desire to put an end to the ongoing “bloodbath” of the three-year conflict in Ukraine, which his administration now frames as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, aligning with Moscow’s perspective.
Following talks between his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and President Vladimir Putin, Trump remarked on Saturday that the negotiations to conclude the war seemed to be going well, but emphasized, “there’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov conveyed to Pavel Zarubin, a leading reporter for Russian state television, that “everything is going very well” when asked about the contrasting assessments of U.S.-Russia relations. Peskov noted that communications were taking place at multiple levels, including through the foreign ministry, intelligence agencies, and Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev.
“However, it is unrealistic to expect any immediate results,” Peskov added, referencing the damage to bilateral relations during Biden’s administration.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to the most severe confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a period when the two superpowers were closest to engaging in nuclear conflict. As Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg on Friday to discuss a potential peace agreement for Ukraine, Trump urged Russia to “get moving.”
State television broadcasted footage of Putin welcoming Witkoff, who placed his hand over his heart in a gesture of greeting, at the beginning of their discussions, which state news agencies later reported lasted more than four hours. When inquired about the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Trump, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov indicated that the two nations were “patiently progressing along this path together,” but emphasized that restoring relations necessitates significant and meticulous effort.
His remarks implied that such a meeting “demands additional work and time.” European leaders, along with Ukraine, characterize the 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land grab orchestrated by Putin. They have consistently called for Russia to be defeated on the battlefield, despite Moscow’s forces currently controlling nearly 20% of Ukraine. Putin frames the conflict in Ukraine as part of a struggle against a waning West, which he claims has humiliated Russia since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 by expanding the NATO military alliance and infringing upon what he views as Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
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